It’s the place that turns kids into pirates, princesses, fairies and knights. It’s where children – of all ages – come face-to-face with their heroes. It’s where romances began, where engagements happen, and here family “firsts” and milestones are celebrated. It’s charming and thrilling, adventurous and romantic, and full of heart all at the same time. In short, Magic Kingdom Park is the place that so many Disney fans consider…home. And on Saturday, October 1, this magical place will officially celebrate 45 years of creating unforgettable experiences like this for thousands of families from around the world.

Plans to build a Disney theme park in Central Florida were first announced by Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney at a press conference in Winter Park, FL, in 1965. Six years later, Walt’s “Florida Project” had grown into a full-blown multiproperty vacation destination – the Walt Disney World Resort, which on opening day 1971 included Magic Kingdom Park, Contemporary Hotel and Polynesian Village Hotel. (Check out the video above for some amazing construction footage of the park before it opened).

Magic Kingdom Park opened to feature lands and attractions similar to those at Disneyland park, but with a few striking differences, including the addition of a Liberty Square section and new park-specific attractions like Country Bear Jamboree. One of the biggest differences to debut at Magic Kingdom Park was the park’s castle, a towering 189-foot-tall Cinderella Castle that served as the focal point of the park.

Constructing a property of this size was no small task – and neither was celebrating the accomplishment of opening the world’s largest Disney property to-date. To celebrate, the resort held a three-day series of grand opening festivities that culminated on October 25 with the grand opening of Magic Kingdom Park. In the video above, which we shared for the park’s 40th anniversary, opening day cast member Forrest Bahruth shares his memories of this massive celebration, which featured a 1,076-piece marching band, 50,000 balloons and more.

The “Inside Disney Parks” #DisneyParksLIVE stream series returned Sunday, August 28, with a special presentation of Main Street Electrical Parade from Walt Disney World Resort.

The Main Street Electric Parade will soon be “glowing” away to inspire our friends at Disneyland Resort in California. But before it makes its cross-country journey, guests have until October 9 to enjoy this sparkling spectacular at the Magic Kingdom Park.

If you happened to miss the live stream, Disney Parks posted the recorded live stream on their YouTube channel.

Check out the video to celebrate the Main Street Electric Parade featuring thousands of shimmering lights and some of your favorite Characters from cherished Disney stories!

“Inside Disney Parks” has announced that their #DisneyParksLIVE stream series returns on Sunday, August 28, with a special presentation of Main Street Electrical Parade from Walt Disney World Resort.

The Main Street Electric Parade will soon be “glowing” away to inspire our friends at Disneyland Resort in California. But before it makes its cross-country journey, guests have until October 9 to enjoy this sparkling spectacular at the Magic Kingdom Park. We hope many of you will be able to see the parade in person before it leaves, but if not the Disney Parks Blog has you covered with a live stream!

We hope you join in Sunday night at 8:55 p.m. ET as we celebrate the Main Street Electric Parade featuring thousands of shimmering lights and some of your favorite Characters from cherished Disney stories.

In case you forgot about or otherwise missed one of July’s Disney Parks Live Streams from Walt Disney World or Disneyland, we have you covered.

We’ve scoured the Internet and found links to captures of the live streams on YouTube! To save you the trouble, we’ve collected them all here in one place for you.

The “Awaken Summer” Disney Parks event kicked off with a live stream of the “Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” Independence Day fireworks show from Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on July 4th.

The Disney Parks Blog’s #DisneyParksLIVE series returns to the Disneyland Resort on Monday, July 25, with a live stream of “Paint the Night” parade, part of the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration!

“Paint the Night” parade brings some of the most innovative floats, vibrant costumes, dazzling special effects, unforgettable music and energetic performances ever presented at Disneyland Resort. This state-of-the-art nighttime parade floods Main Street, U.S.A., with stunning color, fun surprises and more than 1.5 million brilliant LED lights. It was created for the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, which continues through September 5.

The live stream will begin at 8:50 p.m. PT (11:50 p.m. ET). Tune in to learn all about this dazzling parade from the creative people behind the scenes and find out how you can participate in the live stream yourself on the Disney Parks Blog and on Twitter at @DisneyParks!

The next #DisneyParksLIVE stream will take place July 18 from Disney’s Hollywood Studios, where guests are loving the new “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular” fireworks show.

The spectacular is the next generation of Star Wars-themed fireworks shows for the park. “Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular,” dazzles with new themed fireworks, lasers, special effects and video projections of iconic characters and scenes from the complete saga, all set to the unforgettable score of the film series.

The live stream of this new show will begin at 9:20 p.m. ET. Visit the Disney Parks Blog website minutes before the fireworks start to learn more about how the show was designed from the creators themselves! (A fresh blog post containing the live stream feed will be ready and waiting at the top of the blog on July 18).

As part of the Disney Parks Blog series of live-stream events every Monday in July, the next #DisneyParksLIVE stream will showcase the brand new stage show, “Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire,” live from Magic Kingdom Park on July 11.

If you haven’t had the chance to check it out yet, the stage show brings beloved Disney stories to life in a spectacular performance that features an original song, memorable music, dancing, delightful costumes and magical special effects.

You can expect to see favorite Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Goofy, plus a wonderful cast of characters from some of Disney’s newest classics, including “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “The Princess and the Frog.”

The live stream will begin at 4:10 p.m. ET. Join the stream minutes before the show starts to learn more about how new shows and entertainment are created for Walt Disney World Resort. (A fresh blog post containing the live stream feed will be ready and waiting at the top of the blog on July 11).

The next live-stream event will be Monday, July 18. Be sure to check back with The WDW Pensieve for details.

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The latest installment of TCM’s exploration of the Disney Vault will air Tuesday, June 28th.

Turner Classic Movies is proud to host an on-air showcase of Treasures from the Disney Vault. Several times a year, TCM will feature a wide array of Disney classics for the entire family to enjoy, including animated shorts, feature films, live-action movies, documentaries, nature films and made-for-television movies.

Treasures of the Disney Vault begins at 8:00p.m. EDT with 1961’s The Parent Trap and will end Wednesday, June 29th with the 4:00a.m. EDT showing of 1983’s Trenchcoat.

In between will be such Disney treasures as Clock Cleaners, Old King Cole, and Hot Lead & Cold Feet.

Each feature will be introduced by host Leonard Maltin, a distinguished Disney historian who will help place the feature into the context of its time and educate the viewer on what they’re about to see.

Since the programming runs overnight, be sure to set your DVR to catch every Disney-filled moment!

For a complete listing of the features and the airing schedule, be sure to visit TCM.

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Bob first visited Walt Disney World in 1975 when he was 6 years old. He went back with his wife and two daughters 37 years later in 2012. Since then, he and his family have visited WDW each year at Spring break or when school is out for the Summer. They currently have another trip planned for March 2018.